The Great Declutter Part 3 - 2011

greent

Afternoon all!

Total tidying and decluttering of the children's 4 bedrooms is still going alog - our wheelie bin this week will be fit to burst, teh recycling is already too hevy for me (DH will have to ut it out), we have a binliner of clothes to go to charity, a box of toys/books/ clothes to go to the next NCT sale and a box of items to go into the loft (stuff from Ds1 for Ds2 and stuff from DS2 for DS3) and a large carrier of stationery, colouring books and sticker sheets for Operation Xmas Child. It's definitely slow progress (not helped by DS2 and DS3 untidying as I go along!) but definite progress is being made! I've also thrown a lot of unwanted tupperware-type lids where I no longer have the boxes (usually they've cracked and had to be thrown)

More stuff on ebay this week -sold a bike, a barbecue and a digital photo frame last week

cat04

Out:
1 top from DD2 for charity bag
1 top from DD2 to recycling as it's stained and too small
2 nighties from DD2 that are in the wash then into charity bag as too small now
More 'craft' stuff i.e. broken cardboard box and unwanted pictures from DD1
General recycling e.g. toilet roll inner, junk mail, food packaging all into outside bin
2 used up toiletries binned/recycled
OH sold another load of blu-rays which he took with him to work to post at lunch time


Big pile of ironing decluttered from ironing pile and now eady to be put away
Running fridge contents down as going away on Sat for a week
Pending out: 2 boxes of foodie bits to take on hols
1 ebay item with bids on ending tonight, plus hopefully other items will get bids too

IN: Nowt

mollythewestie

I managed to find 2 more books to send to the charity shop today, well its better than nothing!
And I have also sent up the handful of books I unsuccessfully put on green metropolis.

Quick question, How long do you keep utility bills?
We still have them all since moving in 5 years ago, but I am wondering if just keeping the last 3 years is enough.
Thinking about it, I think I kept the last few years worth of bills/receipts from my last property, they are in the loft somewhere :eek:

pollys

Managed to get the garage and shed decluttered today. It was so hot though. Got rid of loads of stuff and DH made lots of trips to various places - the scrap metal yard ( got £4) paint recycling, card recycling, general waste etc. They look so much better now, just got a little bit more to do but as we are also decorating will de-clutter the last box when that is finished as this box contains all the decorating stuff.
DH also cut the hedge. Having a rest now.

Well done everyone for all your efforts.

Pollys x

alisoninbristol

Hi, I'm new to this decluttering thing - have three rooms in my house that need sorting. (Long story)

Couple of questions - advice please?

Where to start - like I say I have three rooms full with everything under the sun. Books, clothes, old computer stuff, boxes which I have no idea what's in... I am off work next week and would really like to achive something before the end of the week. Any ideas?


I haven't got a car - hence can't go to the tip, charity shop is close but can only take what I can carry, can't do a car boot sale. Any tips?

Is e-bay a good idea? Seems like you have to put in a lot of time writing adverts, checking status, replying to enquiries etc. Is it really worth it, or will I just end up keeping lots of stuff around in the hope of selling it?

(Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place)

cat04

alisoninbristol wrote: »

Hi, I'm new to this decluttering thing - have three rooms in my house that need sorting. (Long story)

Couple of questions - advice please?

Where to start - like I say I have three rooms full with everything under the sun. Books, clothes, old computer stuff, boxes which I have no idea what's in... I am off work next week and would really like to achive something before the end of the week. Any ideas?


I haven't got a car - hence can't go to the tip, charity shop is close but can only take what I can carry, can't do a car boot sale. Any tips?

Is e-bay a good idea? Seems like you have to put in a lot of time writing adverts, checking status, replying to enquiries etc. Is it really worth it, or will I just end up keeping lots of stuff around in the hope of selling it?

(Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place)

Hello and welcome to the club! This is most definitely the right place to post

In terms of where to start, personally I'd chose the room that I'd want to get sorted out first and do it bit by bit, box by box. I'd sort everything into 5 piles: keep, recycle, give away, sell, chuck.

Once you've cleared the clutter you can put back what you want to keep; recycling can go to your bin, likewise stuff to chuck that's no good.

Broken appliances etc and metal can be left out for the scrap man (we have a regular one round our way)

Stuff to give away can be taken to charity shops in managable loads, left out for collection when bags are put through your door (you can box/bag it all up and leave it all out together and they'll take the lot, advertise on freecycle etc

Stuff to sell: Ebay is a good start and what I usually do is write a template in Word and then use that for each listing just changing what it is, sizes and measurements, condition etc. Once you've done that it's quite quick to get through several items. I usually save the more expensive stuff for free listing weekends, and any smaller/cheaper bits that I just want rid of I start any time for 99p. Before listing have a search on 'completed listings' to see what sort of prices your things go for. If 100s go unsold at 99p it's probably not worth your while listing, sometimes though it's surprising to find out what silly prices things go for!

Other ways to sell are notice boards in supermarkets etc, if you're on facebook have a search for 'for sale + name of your area/town', there are loads for where I live and get your stuff advertised on there. It's simply a case of a photo, quick sentence about what it is and area where you live and the price you'd like for it. Supermarkets also often have clothes banks, book banks etc.

If you have CDs, computer games, dvds, blu-rays etc take them to your local CEX shop if you have one, Cash Converters etc (check online first for how much they'll pay you as you don't get much for some cds and dvds. Music Magpie is another one you can try and that's all done online (never used them myself yet). Mobile phone and ink cartridge recycling can also be done online.

If you have a friend with a car they might be willing to do a car boot with you and share the pitch fee so you both get chance to sell some bits. Look out for local village jumble sales etc, they might let you have a table for a small fee, or you could just donate any stuff you want rid of but not bothered getting money for.

Ooh, another idea but would need some advertising to get interest - garage sale, although not so good if you're tucked away in a cul de sac

can't think of anything else off the top of my head at the moment, hope you find some of the ideas useful

pavlovs_dog

digital decluttering today - three years worth of teaching resources to organise. this is one of my frogs, so i'm being very disciplined in tackling it

mollythewestie

alisoninbristol wrote: »

Hi, I'm new to this decluttering thing - have three rooms in my house that need sorting. (Long story)

Couple of questions - advice please?

Where to start - like I say I have three rooms full with everything under the sun. Books, clothes, old computer stuff, boxes which I have no idea what's in... I am off work next week and would really like to achive something before the end of the week. Any ideas?


I haven't got a car - hence can't go to the tip, charity shop is close but can only take what I can carry, can't do a car boot sale. Any tips?

Is e-bay a good idea? Seems like you have to put in a lot of time writing adverts, checking status, replying to enquiries etc. Is it really worth it, or will I just end up keeping lots of stuff around in the hope of selling it?

(Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place)

Hi Alison,
If you live in Bristol (As your user name suggests ) The St Peters Hospice will collect any donations from your home for their charity shops. You can organise a collection online (HERE) anywhere within a 12 miles radius of bristol.

But ebay is a good idea for things you want to sell. My tip is not to put too much on at once, it can get a bit overwhelming wrapping, addressing and taking it all to the Post office.

Hope that helps

EDIT: Depending on which part of Bristol you are from, this may not be helpful!: The british heart foundation have an electrical and furniture charity shop in Kingswood that also collect from your home if you have larger items to donate too.

Becky_2

Evening all

After having been away for a couple of days, I am now back at home and ready to declutter. I have managed to shred a whole pile of newspapers for our paper logs and 6 more logs are now drying in our warmest room to be ready for the winter.

This weekend we will sort out our living room and decide where to put the new bed sofa and then get rid of the massive cardboard box. Our guest bedroom will also be sorted ready for our guests for the weekend after. I also need to defrost our fridge and make a list of what we have in our freezer.

Good luck with decluttering.

ali-t

mollythewestie wrote: »

But ebay is a good idea for things you want to sell. My tip is not to put too much on at once, it can get a bit overwhelming wrapping, addressing and taking it all to the Post office.

I would second this and also if you are listing say 10 items at a time, list similar things as people will often look at your other items if they are interested in something you are selling so may buy more.